Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Catch A Ride: The Rock & Roll scene in Charlotte during the 1960sby Daniel Costonco-author of There Was A Time: Rock & Roll In The 1960s In Charlotte, And North Carolina, by Fort Canoga Press.

“Was there a Rock & Roll scene in Charlotte during that time?’ The question was often asked while I worked on a book on that subject, and to honest, I might’ve once asked that same question, myself. To my delight, I discovered that there was a popular scene in Charlotte during those days, and the fruits of their labors are only recently begun to be appreciated.

Like many other scenes during that time, many of the Rock & Roll bands in Charlotte during the 1960s were still in High School, or even Junior High School. College age was considered “old” by some. Many youngsters heard the records coming out of England, or in the growing Rock scene in America, and quickly acted on this new obsession. They learned how to play their instruments, joined a band (or did both in the reverse order), and found a quick audience in their own classmates at school dances, and Battle Of The Bands competitions. A number of the local High Schools, including South Meck High, claimed more than one Rock & Roll band among their fellow clasmates. It wasn’t until the 1970s that being in a Rock band became a more adult pursuit, be it part-time or full-time.

Due to the age of many of the group’s fans, many of the Rock & Roll venues in Charlotte were teen clubs. Often, they were in the basement of recreation halls, or churches. The Crested T., The Tin Can, and the Spyder Web were among the most popular teen clubs in town. The Spyder Web was located in the basement of the YMCA on Morehead Street, and did not allow anyone in older than 19 years of age. As many as 500 kids would pack the room on a Saturday night to hear local bands play. The Crested T. and the Tin Can were among a handful of teen cluns that popped up in Church rec halls. Other venues, such as the North 29 Bowling Lanes, also hosted Rock & Roll shows.

There were some other clubs that catered to an older (i.e. alcohol drinking) crowd. The Purple Penguin, which was located on the corner of Central and Pecan (where CVS is now). Another popular venue was the Box, on South Boulevard. The Cellar (now the Tavern), which still sits on Morehead Street, turned from featuring R&B and beach bands to catering the new Rock sounds by the end of the 1960s. Phantasmagorica, which was on the outskirts of Charlotte, opened near Matthews in 1968. Many of the bands in town still played these venues, despite not being old enough to drink, or legally step foot in the venue. Many venues told the musicians, “Don’t tell anyone your real age,” so they didn’t.

Not a lot of bands got the chance to record during that time. Recording was expensive, and the parents of many of these groups didn’t think that people would someday be collecting these records for amazing sums of money. In all, eight groups in Charlotte recorded during that decade. The New Mix (which featured future Spongetones drummer Rob Thorne) was the only Charlotte band to record for a major label, releasing their sole album on United Artists Records in 1968. They also recorded a couple of singles under their previous name, the 18th Edition. The Stowaways recorded an album in 1967 for the Winston-Salem based label, Justice Records. That album now goes for $400 to $600 in collector circles. When bands in Charlotte did record, they usually went to Arthur Smith Studios, named for its popular owner. Arthur Smith Studios was among the first large recording studios in the Southeast US to operate outside of Nashville, TN, and attracted everyone from local bands, to James Brown and the Famous Flames.

Perhaps the best-known single to come from Charlotte was “Abba”, which was released by the Paragons in 1966. “Abba” is now revered as a Garage Rock classic, and has been embraced by a new generation of collectors and fans. That single, which the band sold in the halls of their high school, has brought more than $1,800 on Ebay. The Grifs, who were all of 19 when they recorded “Catch A Ride” in 1965, got more attention from the Midwest when their single got airplay in that part of the country. “Catch A Ride”, with its nasty Fuzztone sound, and follow-up single “Keep Dreaming”, are two of the best singles that ever came out of a Charlotte band, period, and listening to these singles on Youtube is highly recommended. Among the other local bands that recorded during the 1960s were the Damascans, and the Good Bad & The Ugly (featuring former Paragons member, and future Spongetone Pat Walters). The Young Ages, who were based out of North Meck High, recorded a two-song demo for Decca Records in 1968, which can now be heard on their website.

It has been a pleasure and a joy to put together this book on the Charlotte scene, as well as the rest of North Carolina. All of these years later, the music that came from North Carolina can be heard on Youtube, in compilations like the Tobacco A Go Go series, or in reissued CD form (such as the Stowaways CD). Go out, and discover this music. It’s new, it’s hip, and it’s cool, just like it was when it was first recorded.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

In 1965, Big WAYS radio (610 AM) arrived in Charlotte, and shook up the airwaves. Big WAYS was known to play more Rock & Roll in amongst their Top 40 playlist, and their promotions got the station a lot of attention. Revisit those heady days here via a Facebook page about Big WAYS radio here-

Ken Haywood and I had formed the band in 7th grade. I believe that would have been in 1965. In 1967 Ken came by my house one day and asked if I would be interested in joining another band which became The Bondsmen. I’m thinking this is when I officially met Jim Bowen who became our bass player and Phillip Pearson (Phil Lee) who became our drummer. We were all in school together but different grades so didn’t really know them.

At some point in time I stopped playing guitar and became the lead vocalist. Most of the gigs we played were teen clubs and occasionally at Willohaven Country Club parties. A lot of people wanted to dance so our sets consisted mostly of top 40 dance tunes and some rock and roll hits. We played basically what we thought people wanted to hear. One memory for me early on was playing on the radio at a weekly Saturday event put on by Belk's department store.

I really don’t remember how we heard about Justice Records. I believe the cost was 300 dollars for a recording session.Two horn players from an older band called the Checkmates sat in on the recording of "Out Of Sight" and "I Love You Yes I Do", two James Brown hits. I believe we had 300 copies pressed and we all hawked them at Northern High School. I think this was the time when I really got the bug for performing. I would guess we played at least once a month and probably practiced once a week at Jim Bowen’s parents home.We played enough to have spending money but maybe not a lot.

Phil’s Grandmother had some houses at Carolina Beach. She would take us down and put us up for free. At that time we played a few times at a club there.Maybe the other guys remember when Gene Galligan, keyboard player and Tim Hutchinson, trumpet player joined the band. It seems like they were always there to me. I think we were more popular than I realized in those days now that I look back.There were several other local bands around The Dukes Of Durham, The Generations, and we all got along pretty well. By 1968, I think that we had lost Gene and Jim Bowen to graduation. Jim Ward came on as bass player and Hubert Deans replaced Gene on keyboards.

Winning the 1968 Raleigh Battle Of The Bands was truly a great experience. At the end of the battle I remember girls coming up from the audience on stage. I felt like a rock star. I think we won a Peavey p.a. system, the use of a new van for a year and a recording contract with AMH records in Chapel Hill, N.C.. We wanted to do something original and of course this was a time when the Vietnam War was wearing thin. There were many protest songs on the air waves at that time so we wrote "Our Time To Try". The band members at this time were Ken Haywood, Jim Bowen, Phil Lee, Tim Hutchinson, Gene Galligan and myself. How we settled on I" See The Light" escapes me but it seems it turned out to be the most popular song.

The end of The Bondsmen came when the last of us graduated High School or at least that was it for me.I went on to college for a short time and then married and had three children Julie, Adam,and Brent.In 1974 Ken Haywood recruited me again to sing with his band The Castaways Ltd. I think I was in for less than a year. After that the only time I ever sang was at karaoke parties.

Since the Bondsmen 45 years went by and I pretty much lost touch with all of the band members. When I received the message from Daniel about a Bondsmen reunion in Charlotte, I was delighted and a bit apprehensive at the same time. Daniel said he would make it happen, and he sure came through on his promise. None of us would have believed it ever possible. To be reunited with all of the band members words can’t express. To have my wife Kaye, my children and younger brother and sister whom had only heard stories about my band days be able to actually hear us was something I could have only dreamed. Not meaning to brag, but I feel we were even better this time. Ken said we actually played the correct chords this time. Getting on that stage again was truly something I will never forget. The Bondsmen were a pretty decent garage band in the Sixties, now that I look back. I must say that today the guys from the Bondsmen are truly professional musicians who stayed with music their entire lives and it truly was an honer to be a part of this.

About Me

I have been a traveler, a documentarian, an enjoyer of life, a survivor, a lead character, a supporting role, a storyteller, an excitable boy, a quiet soul, and an occasional thinker. All when the world asked me to, or all at the same time.